Well-loved and Well-fed

Dumplings, carrots, and surprise lunches

Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Monday!

Erica and I taught a wonderful meal prep class yesterday with special guests (our partners, who were very good sports!) We made delicious hot chocolate baked oats, which were today’s breakfast and a cheerful start to the week (you can grab the replay here). I’m a bit tired from a working Sunday, but am excited for a low key Valentine’s Day celebration and this slow march towards spring (it was 58 degrees on Saturday which was thrilling). I hope you feel loved today and I definitely favor the Spanish version of Valentine’s Day, which celebrates love and friendship, not just romantic love.

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

I’m slowly trying as many flavors as possible of Savino’s ravioli and the portobello/porcini one is really good. I had it with jarred sauce and lots of parmesan cheese for a very quick dinner.

After dinner on Wednesday, I walked past the East Village HMart and couldn’t resist going in. I got frozen dumplings, kimchi, sesame oil and a tofu soup mix from BCD Tofu House that I’m excited to try. I panfried the dumplings with some broccoli and edamame and served it with a sauce of chili crisp, hoisin sauce, and rice vinegar and some scallions. Extremely satisfying.

Tilden came over Saturday and we made a vegetable smorgasbord. First, we roasted some beautiful rainbow carrots with cumin, sumac, and garlic powder. Most roasted carrot recipes lie about how long they take to cook. At 400 degrees, it took about 45 minutes for the carrots to get slightly charred and tender at the center. We topped the carrots with a drizzle of honey, pepitas, basil and cilantro and a blended green tahini sauce with tahini, olive oil, herbs, salt, lemon juice, and a little water to thin it out. It was so good! I served it with some sourdough toast and Tilden made a smashed cucumber salad with rice vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce and we drank Ghia orange spritzes.

While the carrots roasted for a long time, we made cookie dough using my favorite recipe with Miyokos butter, which worked really well (it was my first time baking with it). I baked some of the cookies Saturday and saved the rest of the dough for our Super Bowl gathering last night.

Gotham Greens sent over their spicy pesto and we finished it in three days, using it on pasta, on scrambled eggs and on avocado toast. It’s so good, with a kick from jalapeños. I also really like their Vegan Caesar dressing.

Something to order:

Amy, Julia, Julianne and I caught up with dinner at San Marzano, one of the best priced pasta spots in the city. They don’t take reservations for smaller groups but we had no wait arriving a little bit before 7 on a weekday. Get the rigatoni alla norma or with pesto. Afterwards, we walked over to Holiday Cocktail Lounge for a drink. It’s a great bar and they have a still functional phone booth.

I got off a call on Thursday and Dale surprised me with lunch—tomato soup and grilled cheese from Campbell & Co. It’s a favorite combination and was such a lovely treat.

Hannah had a Galentine’s Day soiree at Talea, a brewery started by two best friends (I wrote about it last year) and it was so lovely! Everyone shared funny dating stories (and dressed to the theme) and I’m so impressed by the ever changing selection at Talea.

To take advantage of the warm weather, I had brunch outside on Saturday with Oset, Quentin, Erica and Dale. We went to La Rina in Clinton Hill and enjoyed a radicchio salad, focaccia, a Roman style pizza with burrata and egg sandwiches. It was so nice not to shiver outside and to get some sunshine.

Something to read:

I share additional reads with a lil extra commentary in the Thursday newsletter

10 Underrated Rom Coms

Inside the cheese caves at Caputo’s

Need to visit this bakery next time I’m in Long Beach

The everlasting appeal of a JLo rom com

Does being a classic restaurant mean you can never change?

Shanika Hillocks shares wine and cheese pairings for Valentine’s Day

Shake Shack has a dating app now?

Julia has been working on this story for months and it’s so important: They survived apartment fires. But they can’t escape the aftermath.

Candace Bushnell set up Hannah on dates (iconic)

Vespertine, a fine dining restaurant from Jordan Kahn, is an extremely toxic workplace

Couples in south Jersey share the restaurants they went to on lasting first dates

Jackie Summers of Sorel Liquor on developing a brand and dealing with bias

I bought a house with my best friend—here’s how I did it

The rise of nutritional yeast in the omnivore’s pantry

Local Veterans Find Comfort in the Structure and Creativity of Professional Cooking

Alicia Kennedy on moving to a new place and feeling like you have multiple places to call home

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This week, I’d love to hear a small way you show self love, in the kitchen or out! I try to make solo meals special by lighting a candle and turning on a favorite show and I also think stocking your fridge with favorites is an act of self care (restocking is a gift to your future self). I haven’t done it in a while because of Covid but reading alone at a bar is a self love practice I can’t wait to get back to.

Reply to this email with your thoughts and I’ll share them next week.

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Thursday’s newsletter is about the $10 item that dramatically improved my cooking. If you don’t own it, you should. It will also include midweek reads and the next installment of Recommendation Station, the TNHS advice column (submit questions by replying to this email).

Have a great week! You are loved!

xo, Abigail